OLDEST CITY: City has controlled Plaza since US took over

Sunday

Jul 8, 2018 at 6:33 AMJul 8, 2018 at 6:33 AM

Issues about the monuments to the Confederate War Dead and to William Wing Loring have brought up confusion among the public about control of the land on which the monuments stand. The monument to the Confederate Dead sits on city land, the Loring monument on property of the state of Florida.

Some call the space where the Loring monument stands the "west Plaza." That is a term that seems to work today. But in fact, the grounds west of Government House were never part of the Plaza. The Plaza itself extended east to west from Matanzas Bay (more or less) to the governor's residence.

On the north side, the Plaza eventually became bordered by the parish church in the 1790s. Buildings on the Plaza's south side formed another boundary and King Street evolved. The creation in the late 1800s of Cordova Street and the extension of Cathedral Place westward between St. George and Cordova streets created a setting that suggests that there was a west Plaza.

Gardens, orchards, and "utility" buildings, such as latrines occupied the land to the west of the governor's house in 1763. Pablo Castello's 1763 appraisal of the governor's house noted that the garden or orchard between the "executive mansion" and today's Cordova Street held 120 citrus trees, 95 of them sour orange trees. Along Maria Sanchez Creek, which formed the western boundary of the governor's house, the defensive redoubt named Our Lady of the Rosary (Rosario) was built about 1719 at the far end of the governor's yard.

When the Spanish Floridas were transferred to the United States in 1821, the territorial (federal) government claimed ownership of properties that had been owned by the Spanish Crown. This included the Governor's House. The building quickly became a courthouse and post office. There was also a billiard room and a physician's office in the building.

There was wrangling between local residents and U.S. officials over ownership of some buildings and lots that were not residences. Just what was actually public and what did that mean when changing from Spanish legal precepts and practices to much younger U.S. legal norms.

In the end, the City Council kept control of the Plaza. The City Council had been formed first in November of 1812 under the recently passed Spanish Constitution. Then Spain's King Ferdinand rescinded the constitution in 1814 and the Council disbanded. But in 1820, the king re-instated the Constitution and the St. Augustine City Council was re-established. Thus there was a sitting City Council when the U.S. took over. If there had been no City Council in July of 1821, the Plaza might well have become federal land.

Of course, the first City Council had already marked its space with a monument to the Constitution. The Council went far beyond the requirement to place a marker with the name "Plaza de la Constitution." A plaque would have sufficed, but St. Augustine residents had waited for centuries for a City Council. The aldermen (commissioners) went all out and built a 30-foot high coquina monument to commemorate the Spanish Constitution.

In the late 1880s, Henry Flagler's requirement of a good street along the east side of his Ponce de Leon Hotel changed the street pattern. He filled Maria Sanchez Creek and thus created Cordova Street from the creek bed. The Rosario Redoubt, or at least a remnant of it still stood and was incompatible with the Flagler's Cordova Street project. The redoubt was demolished. Cathedral Street was extended through the old Governor's house property to meet up with Cordova Street.

The old governor's residence served as the post office for many years and the land to its west was sometimes referred to as Post Office Park. In 1966, when the federal government no longer had use for the building, the property was transferred to the state of Florida.

Susan R. Parker holds a doctorate in colonial history.

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